3 Apps To Maintain A Remote Workforce

May 22, 2013
Mario Armstrong

My own small business is up to 6 employees—some here on the east coast, others working daily from as far away as Texas. We work from home, the train, planes, coffee shops, and yes, sometimes, real offices. We're constantly switching between...

Risk Taking For Small Businesses

April 29, 2013
Susan Solovic

When I worked in corporate America, I managed a national sales force.  Because the majority of our clients were big brands, we frequently participated in the major industry trade shows many of which were held in Las Vegas....

Fog Ahead: Getting To Clarity With Cloud

April 26, 2013
Jeff Morgan

In a recent Infoworld article, Matt Prigge brought up a host of valid points about the way we market the cloud. Is it a disservice to the small business owner without an IT staff to overly simplify the concepts behind our wares? Surely it sells an account, but at what cost? I’m forever walking the line between too much detail and not enough, but what if the vendor doesn’t actually provide the service as promised? What if, in spite of...

3 Best Cloud Apps For Business

April 24, 2013
Mario Armstrong

Last week I discussed the best cloud apps for managing your contacts and business cards, but what about everything else you do while on the go? Can you use the cloud to be more productive in other areas? Of course you can! There are apps that leverage the cloud to do almost everything you do online...

Building Your Brand With Google+

April 23, 2013
Mark Burgess

Now that Google+ has been around for a few years, the benefits have come into sharper focus.  Most notably, this rapidly-growing social network is proving to be a popular, integrated platform for small business.  The brilliance of Google+ lies in...

What’s Your Business’s Cherry Garcia?

April 15, 2013
Susan Solovic

Over half of all small businesses fail in the first three years.  I’m sure you’ve heard that statistic before.  It’s difficult starting and growing a successful small business.  It’s even tougher in today’s challenging economy.  I talk to business owners every week who tell me how they’re struggling to keep their doors open....

4 Ways To Avoid Being Foolish About Cloud

April 1, 2013
Jeff Morgan

April Fool’s Day comes but once a year, but you might think it comes once or twice a week if you’re struggling over the promise and disappointment of SaaS apps and the cloud in general. As far back as the days of Chaucer, we’ve celebrated the day where no news topic is sacred, no personal space is private, and no...

3 Tax Time Tips To Save You Money

Susan Solovic

Like it or not, it’s time to start planning for this year’s tax season.While you can’t escape paying Uncle Sam, you can make sure you don’t pay more than legally required.  However, because the tax laws change every year, knowing what you can and can’t write off is confusing to say the least. ...

Seize The Day—And The Cloud

March 29, 2013
Allyson Fralish

When you think about businesses using the cloud, chances are your neighborhood bookstore or clothing store isn’t among the first to come to mind. A recent survey on cloud usage supports my theory, showing only 16% of small and midsize retailers currently use the cloud. However, as an avid cloud watcher, I believe this statistic is...

2 Ways To Leverage Cloud For The Perfect Follow-Up

March 27, 2013
Mario Armstrong

Last week I broke down my step-by-step tips for how to network and pitch while at conferences, events, and talks. No matter what line of business you're in, there's always people to pitch who can help your business or with whom you can create mutually beneficial partnerships. But let's say you're...

The DNA Of Good Content Marketing

March 26, 2013
Mark Burgess

A good story helps your audience to connect more deeply with your brand. Content marketing is generating a lot of buzz in 2013. Businesses of all sizes are engaged in finding ways to leverage this new approach to marketing. According to Gary Vaynerchuk, wine entrepreneur and social...

50 Marketing Leaders Over 50 You Should Know

March 25, 2013
Alan See

Let’s recognize that age has little to do with ability. You’re never too young or too old if you’ve got talent.  In the marketing world, Advertising Age and Direct Marketing News have their “40 under 40” lists. Forbes has their “30 under 30.” This blog post counterbalances with 50 who are over 50 because to my knowledge a list of this nature has never been published. Now, before I present my list let me provide some...

Influence vs Advocacy: Which Rules The Digital Kingdom

March 20, 2013
Brian Solis

In the world of social marketing, digital influence is akin to saying holy water. It is sacred, mysterious, and purportedly carries with it healing properties. Influencers speak and the world stops to listen. Almost as prestigious in the new world of conversational marketing is the word advocacy. Advocates are the disciples of brands. They are customers or fans and they live to join branded communities and also go out of their way to tell...

3 Tips To Turn Google+ Hangouts Into A Powerful Resource

March 18, 2013
Susan Solovic

True confession -- I’m a social media junkie.  Kred, an organization that measures social media influence, recently placed me in the top one percent of influencers on the Internet. I’m happy to see the majority of small businesses owners like me are enthusiastically embracing social media as a smart, cost-effective way to market their businesses....

Message Delivered: Solve Your Customer’s Problem via Text

March 15, 2013
Barbara Jones

Have you been toying with adding SMS (texting) to your marketing mix, but are wondering how best to do it?  Quick Answer: Solve a problem for your customer and it will garner you the best results. Here’s an example that we can all relate to:  You leave your house mid-morning to run errands, only to find that about three hours later you’re famished, but don’t know where to go nearby to grab a bite to eat.  Making matters worse,...

11 Steps To Mastering The Art Of Human Networking

March 13, 2013
Mario Armstrong

Networking online, through social media channels, email, and LinkedIn, is something everyone I know does pretty well. After all, you can take all the time you like to compose your pitches and online networking comes without the stress and anxiety that often accompanies face-to-face interaction. But by no means should...

Show Me The Money, eCommerce!

March 11, 2013
Lisa Thomas

If your website is all about making money for your business, mostly through the transaction of goods and services, then by definition it is an eCommerce site.   As with any business, making money requires investment, and running a lucrative eCommerce site is no exception.  By investing and integrating these five money-making traits into your site, your business will be bound to bring in even more money in 2013: mobile, social, personal,...

Secrets To Social Branding Success For Small Businesses

March 5, 2013
Cheryl Burgess

Welcome to the social media conversation of 2013, where business and marketing communities have accepted the why of social media, and now they have begun asking the how. Everywhere we look, small businesses are ready to go social, but many of them are wondering where to begin. With so many social media options...

Ready For A Small Business Barn Raising?

March 4, 2013
Susan Solovic

This past week I saw an inspiring news story about the success of a downtown business district in a small community in the St. Louis, Mo. area.  Only two retail spaces were vacant in this small town.  That’s in sharp contrast to many small town main streets with boarded up buildings and a ghost town appearance....

Let Cloud Do The Heavy Lifting

February 28, 2013
Hsuan-hua Chang

When we hear about the Cloud, we often hear about VM (virtual machine). VM is important to Cloud services because it allocates the resources that you need automatically. For those of us that use Windows, we are familiar with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.). Since those...

Battle For The Marketing Budget

February 27, 2013
Brian Solis

Social is as social does. That’s me doing my best attempt to channel Forrest Gump. Why? Because like in the movie, this expression essentially signifies that people will follow what others do, often without knowing why. Sometimes it’s important simply because everyone else is doing it. Call it a form of social proof if you will, the age-old psychological phenomenon where, in...